hassan. day three and 73 of the biden administration. and the race to a new supreme court justices on. with justice stephen breyer officially stepping down. democrats are hoping to match trump's record of getting his final nominee. amy cohen barrett, remember her? on to the court in just 27 days, instead of the typical 60 days plus. the buzzword today among democratic senate leadership, was expeditious. they've already begun strategizing their next moves. and one democrat on the judiciary committee has this message for republicans. >> we are prepared to fight, make no mistake. we are prepared to fight ferociously. and use all of the options that we have to get this job done. it is a job that will get done. this nominee will be confirmed. this afternoon, justice breyer appeared with the president at the white house to formally announce his retirement. but our carried the letter he

sent from the white house to detail his plans to remain on the court, through the end of the term this summer and to not leave until a successor is confirmed. president biden outlined how he plans to move forward with the nomination. >> once i select a nominee, i will ask the senate to move promptly on my choice. in the end i will nominate a historic candidate. someone who is worthy of justice breyer's legacy. it is my intention to announce my decision before the end of february. i've made no choice at this point. the person i will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications. character, experience and integrity. and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. >> justice breyer than warned of the challenges that he sees ahead for american democracy. >> this is a complicated country. more than 330 million people.

people so different and what they think. and yet, they've decided to help solve their major differences under law. but i will tell you what lincoln thought, washington thought and will people today still think. it is an experiment. it is an experiment that is still going on. that next generation and the one after that. my grandchildren and their children. they will determine whether the experiment still works. >> senators from both sides of the aisle are now beginning to weigh in on biden's potential choice to replace breyer. west virginia's joe manchin, who now has some time on his hands after killing off the freedom to vote act in build back better, today decided to weigh in on a nominee whose beliefs may not hear his own. >> what you want is somebody, forget the philosophical beliefs and me, how they have dispersed justice. their record, have they've been outspoken, have they've been

fair, things of that sort and they have a disposition. whoever he puts up, we'll have experience and we'll be able to judge them off of that. but as far as just a philosophical beliefs, no that won't stop me from supporting somebody. >> meanwhile, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell is already hinting at his parties potential objections in the statement, quote. the american people elected a senate that is evenly split hefty 50, to the degree that president biden received a mandate to govern from the middle. stuart our institution and unite america he said in a statement. the president may not outsource this position to the radical left. the american people deserve a nominee with reverence, for the written text of our constitution. he must have forgotten about the outsourcing done to groups like the hard right federalist society that helped pick every single conservative justice on the high court. just ahead, white house press secretary jen psaki joins me

live. i will ask about the presidents strategy to get confirmed. also tonight, we are following the u.s., ukraine russia standoff. reporting that moscow is continuing forces on the border of ukraine. today biden had a phone call with zelensky. more on that ahead as well. let's bring off our lead off guest on this night. peter baker, courtney -- white house correspondent for usa today. and barbara mcquade, a veteran federal prosecutor and former u.s. attorney for district of michigan. coasting the podcast sisters in law. celebrating its one year anniversary today. peter, let me start with you. there is a lot of speculation about how hard the republicans will. fight we've heard the not so veiled warning about mitch mcconnell about the radical pick. the washington post notes that some conservatives have signaled they want to take an aggressive approach. and fight whoever biden nominates. how strong peter do you think

the appetite is among senate republicans, for what they might wrongly think is payback for kavanaugh or bear? >> look, they are going to fight the nominee because that is what their role is. that is what their base expects them to do. that is the nature of politics in washington today. it does not really matter. as long as democrats are together. because they have, at least believe, that the president can cast tiebreak. there are some -- they have a majority to force their nominee through. that points to the importance of senator manchin and senator sinema. senator manchin and senator sinema have supported all biden's traditional nominees so far. including some of the people who are being named as candidates for this particular slot. so there is no necessary reason to believe that there and disagreement of the build back better and on the filibuster, would extend to supreme court nomination. at this point, the democrats look pretty united on this subject. they carry lot about this court. as it is about to consider whether or not to overturn roe

v. wade. my guess is that as long as the democrats are together, republican nomination will be about making some noise. having a debate. but not necessarily threatening the actual success of a nomination. >> courtney, what is the white house's overall strategy to get the nominee confirmed swiftly. how aggressive are they going to be in terms of timelines, do you think? >> well, i think it is important to remember that priors retirement was already expected. so the groundwork here has already been laid. as white house press secretary jen psaki pointed out today, the president has been reviewing the biographies of these potential nominees. for at least a year. so dating back to the campaign trail, even longer than that. so, this is not something, as much as the starting gun went off yesterday, or today even. with breyer's official announcement. this is a process that has been well underway. the white house is bringing in

-- they have their team of folks within the white house. they will bring an outside advisers to help shepherd through whoever the president eventually names. and there are already outrage to folks on the hill. so this is not something that has necessarily been as frenzied as you might have had with other supreme court justices nominations, when we've had unexpected guests. this is something that the president has been preparing for over the last year. >> and barb, courtney mentions the president reviewing the biographies of the potential nominees. replacing breyer, won't increase the number of liberals on the court. it will still be 6 to 3. many of these nominees put aside gender, put aside ethnicities. have different backgrounds and breyer. how could the hike or in the land change? how could the progressive faction in the court change, if one of these nominees is

confirmed? >> so many of the justices on the supreme court mehdi, may look a little different. but actually have similar backgrounds. degrees from harvard or yell. very high pedigrees. and not a lot of them live in kind of the lived experience that many other americans live. and so i think one of the things that might be useful for president biden to think about, it's who from america's heartland. who maybe went to a law school other than an ivy league law school. president biden didn't go to ivy league schools. and probably has an appreciation for other kinds of experiences. having diversity in all shapes and forms, is really valuable. and i know you set aside from the obvious demographics. but you know, i've heard people say that it is appropriate for president biden to say that he will commit to selecting a african american woman. it is really important. we have excluded african american women. and that perspective forever. so it is high time that we have that perspective and others

represented in court. because when you have a diversity of perspectives, groups make better decisions. and i think that will make the court better. if you can get past the politics of it, having different viewpoints, experiences and perspectives, will make the court make better decisions. >> we mustn't favor one demographic. say the same people who have favored white men for over 200 years. peter, we now have chuck schumer and judiciary chair dick durbin, -- the push comes after two of biden's other big priorities failed on voting rights. on build back better. how much pressure is this democratic leadership, both in the white house and the senate, under right now. >> there are a lot of pressure, but this is also an opportunity to kind of take the soundness out of the mouth. after a few weeks. i think that the democrats are happy about this. they see this as an opportunity to kind of reset, after a difficult couple of months. there it is again, an agreement

among democrats on this area. remember, biden has managed to confirm more federal judges in his first year, then president trump did in his. and trump, of course made a big point of how much she made the federal judiciary. one of his big accomplishments over the last four years. democrats are eager to undo that. rebound the courts as much as they can. with their own nominees. this is one of the areas that has a unifying force among democrats. where is the legislation among the last few weeks that we saw, did not necessarily have that same effect. >> courtney, just picking up on peter's point of this being an opportunity for democrats. this being a unifying force. we are going to ask jen psaki about the nomination in just a few minutes. but is there a plan do you think, emerging in the west wing. to use this nomination. this confirmation coming up. as a way of winning votes in the midterm? as a way of energizing the base? >> i think to the extent that it gives them a boost. it gives them some breathing room, as peter suggested.

after a number of setbacks on their agenda. with voting rights. also the president's approval ratings underwater. and also, particularly with the african-american community. some advocates who might feel disappointed by the failed push for voting rights. but i do not know how much this absolutely changes the picture on midterms for democrats. particularly because the courts have proven to be an issue that galvanizes gop voters, more than it galvanizes democratic voters. it gives them some enthusiasm. of course, they can do some messaging, and fundraising off of this. but heading into the midterms, yes, it is a win that they can point to. which is something that democrats need certainly. and the white house needs right now. sort of political lifeline.

but, you know, the long term, looking had to november. i'm not sure that it changes much. >> bob how should we assess justice breyer's legacy after 28 years on the bench. and also, talk about his comments today. calling this a complicated country and experiment that is still going on. >> his comments today were just lovely. i thought he really epitomized every thing that you have heard about him. being a statesman. a pragmatist. courteous. he is very old school in that way. but i hope that it is not a relic of the past that can never be replicated. because having someone, the most important thing he said today i thought and this is i think implementing of what he stood for. is this idea that we have a lot of different people in this country. more than 330 philip million people in this country. people who are very different. and you have different perspectives. and if we continue to be on each other. fight within our tribes.

we are not going to succeed. but what is so remarkable about this experiment in the united states, is that people agreed to follow the rule of law. i don't agree with you, and i'm willing to go into a court and if the judge tells us which one of this when this dispute, i will abide by that ruling. and so that is what has allowed this experiment to work. and i think we are seeing some of that start to crack. january six and other things. we need a court that will reinforce that rule of law. >> we are also seeing the court itself, the supreme court has become so politicized in alaska peers. justice breyer, when he was doing his book tour last year. he was trying to defend the court against that. it will be interesting to see, you talked about diversity, outside voice comes in and shake set up a bit. at least on the progressive liberal side. that will be fascinating to see. peter, before we run out of time. ukraine. today the ukrainian president and the united states president had a phone call. afterwards, ukrainian seemed to suggest in their official

readouts that the president was saying, invasion is guaranteed. kyiv could be sacked. paraphrasing. the white house national security council saying no, that is not what biden said. but you are the americans and ukrainian governments on the same page right now in this critical moment? >> quote not. in the messaging so far. with ukrainians heard is that this is coming. and this is something the intelligence agencies have been telling the biden administration now for several weeks. this is not just a possibility that there is a real chance here, that putin is going on in some fashion or another. in a very aggressive way. that is with the ukrainians heard from the president today. it is important. because ukrainian leadership has been playing this down a little bit, even as the west has been raising alarms. i think that is where there's a little disconnect between president biden and president zelensky. president zelensky is upset that the americans have taken their embassy people. out of the country. saying that you are stirring up something farther than it has to be. this can be worked out. and the americans are basically saying to the ukrainians, take this seriously, we think

something that is about to happen. >> yes. and if something bad is about to happen. you want the government on the same page. peter, courtney, barbara, thank you so much for your time tonight. appreciate it. coming up, the right now. is this right now? extremely critical time for the white house. press secretary jen psaki is standing by live. and later, taking sides in the battle to fill justice breyer see on the bench. our political experts square off on everything at stake. the 11th hour, just getting underway on a thursday night. underway on a thursday night

the pandemic made teaching and learning really hard. but instead of working to help students safely return to the classroom, the san francisco school board focused on renaming schools and playing politics. and they've even saddled our district with a $125 million deficit. >> the president is focused on our children can't wait for new leadership. here's our chance for a fresh start. on february 15th, please recall school board members collins, lópez and moliga before our kids fall even further behind.

moving the ball forward and hopefully we can build on a historic here of 2021 and keep this recovery going strong. but we are going to see is as this economic growth continues, as this economy progresses, we will see these prices normalize and people will see that in the pockets as well. >> the u.s. economy sizeable growth in the fourth quarter of last year. that caps off the strongest year of economic growth in nearly four decades. yet voters remain pessimistic about the economy, the new york times puts it this way, quote, inflation is running at its fastest pace since 1982, eroding gains and eating away paychecks as even robust wage increases struggle to keep pace. and despite vaccines, life has yet to return to normal in the way many people once expected. we are pleased to welcome to the broadcast in the white house press secretary jen psaki. jen, first off the, thanks for staying up late. your morning person, i'm an night person, so i'm much more confident with this conversation.

>> i'm going to see if i had too much coffee soon. i'll see if i had too much -- will see! we'll see! >> i don't do coffee. >> don't worry! >> let's go. it must be frustrating for you to see these record growth numbers, record jobs numbers, and then see a majority of americans and not have confidence in joe biden's handling of the economy. is that a messaging failure on joe biden's part, on your administration's part? >> it's a covid challenge, mehdi. look, i think we can celebrate, and i know you just talked about this, the fact that we haven't had this kind of economic growth and 37 years. i wasn't preschool at that point in time. that's exciting, we are growing at a faster rate of china for the first time in 20 years. that's good. we are on record low unemployment rates. that's good. but we also know is that we are fighting a pandemic. that's very much tied to inflation. it's impacting issues like supply chain challenges we are seeing around the world. and it's impacting also the

psyche of the american public. and we know that's playing out in terms of how people feel, about the economy, and how they feel about their circumstances right now. >> you didn't mention the word inflation. you would include inflation in there as well? >> of course. i think it's important for people to know and understand, inflation is caused by a number of issues. and if we talk about inflation, we really mean the costs and how they're impacting people in their everyday lives. right? if you look at the supply chain, we know that so tied to the pandemic. we're obviously fighting the omicron variant right now. the uptick of the omicron variant. we know that a lot of countries around the world are fighting that. that means that while the global supply chains brings cost down in the united states, if there is a manufacturing hub that slow shuts down in malaysia, china, or anywhere, that means we won't get those goods. that can mean that prices go up. so we need to get the pandemic under control from a global perspective in order to make sure that supply chains are

working as they should. while also getting ports going, which we have made a lot of progress on. they're a couple of other issues that we've been working on at the same time. one is one third of the inflationary pressure is the result of cars. car prices. if you're trying to buy a car right now, they are expensive. a big part of that is because we are not manufacturing enough cars in the united states, because we don't have enough chips here. we need more manufacturing capital city in the united states. so that something that's part of this bill, this competition bill, that's moving its way through congress, hopefully soon, is going to help solve over the long term. cars is a big part of it. let me just do one more piece, maybe. i think you'll like this one. this one is where -- is where businesses, big companies, meat manufacturers and conglomerates, are taking advantage of this moment and jacking up prices for consumers. we also ought to watch that as well. these are all factors that are

impacting people's costs. >> you mentioned getting bills through congress. let's talk supreme court. and the presidents nominee. according to usa today, since 1975, the average number of days from nominations a final senate vote was about 68 days. but justice amy coney barrett received in just 27 days. well this culmination process, will it be closer to the average time, about two months, or more like coney barrett's, less than four weeks? >> we're not looking to set a deadline like that. here's what we know. the presidents intending to name a nominee, name a black woman, as a nominee to the court in february. next month. that's pretty soon. the process after that, what he wants to do, is proceed by consultations with the senate, democrats and republicans, because he thinks that we should be able to get republican votes for a qualified nominee to the supreme court. but we are not trying to set out arbitrary timeline. this is a lifetime appointment and justice breyer also said that he would stay until the start of the next term. >> given the senate to joe manchin's wreck to the build

back better agenda, are you taking steps to make sure that he doesn't wreck your supreme court nominee? are you going to -- check to see if you have his vote and cinemas? >> there will be broad consultations, mehdi. i will tell you, i am not quite as stark as you are on this. we still feel like there's a path forward for all of these initiatives. i'll start with build back better. we know that we need 50 votes, obviously. we only have 50 votes. every single senator has to support an agenda. but there is an agreement on some key components. lowering the costs of childcare, negotiating prescription job prices, elder care. that's good. we'll see what 50 senators can come to agreement on. on voting rights, we're gonna keep pressing on it. we can't give up. but yes, there will be consultations. but we're not just bedding on support from just democrats. we believe that we should be able to get some republicans because if we nominate an end qualified nominee, which the president has every intention of doing, that something that we will consult with and we will push for votes on both

sides. >> you mentioned voting rights. congresswoman alexandra ocasio-cortez was on the show last night and she said that the president came too late to the fight on voting rights, especially the filibuster. that he dragged his feet, she said. and this is you, jen, speaking on the presidents behalf last march, have a listen. >> it's the presidents will -- filibuster especially now that some more moderate democrats are now saying that they would like to see some filibuster reforms? >> his view and his position hasn't changed. >> jen, why wait almost a year to change his view and come up so publicly against the filibuster to give the rousing speech in atlanta, that he finally gave this month? we lost all of 2021 while he waited for bipartisanship? >> first, mehdi. that wasn't the first speech on voting rights that he gave hardly. he gave a number of speeches -- >> it was the first time that he meant the -- first time it was specifically

on the filibuster. >> i am getting there! i agree with you mehdi. i agree with you. but i think it's important for people to know and to understand. he also signed a historic historic -- order on voting rights within the first few weeks of taking office. i think that the argument that he had gone under a year earlier and came out against the filibuster would've changed the votes or the views of senator sinema and senator manchin, we have not see that play out to be fact. it's also true that there were others who may not have been four changes of the filibuster who came around and are more united around that. we are building support. we have to keep fighting and keep at it. but voting rights legislation, and fighting for that, is something the president has been doing long before he was inaugurated, for decades now, in public life. and he's gonna keep fighting for it. >> but you're telling me this debate over the filibuster, we have this vote on the filibuster finally in the senate on this year eve of his year in office that fails. i would not say that they would change their minds early, but you're telling me that if he came --

the leader of the democratic party, how do you not come out three, six, nine months early and said, we need to get this filibuster out of the way for voting rights, that would've helped? >> would it have changed the minds of the two senators who were not for changing the roles in the senate? i don't think we have any evidence of that. and in fact, it may have had the opposite impact on others. look, i think ultimately here, the president has been very clear, he gave a very passionate speech just two weeks ago, about his openness to changing rules, changing senate rules, the fact that process should not get in the way of progress, that is very much where his heart is and what he believes. he also gave a number of speeches on voting rights last year. now what we have to do is figure out what the path forward is, there is a legislative path, we want legislation to get done, the justice department has also doubled their voter protection funding. that's important. there's a lot that is going to happen on the dnc and party committees. there's a lot of work happening

with groups on the ground, and we have to keep fighting for voting laws in these states. >> just on ukraine, it was reported today that according to a ukrainian official during president biden's call with president zelensky today, president biden said that russian invasion is almost certain once the ground freezes and to prepare for impact. the national council said they denied, saying that president biden said that there's a distinct possibility that the russians could invade ukraine in february. reports of anything more different that that are completely false. where is the confusion coming from on this crucial issue? where is it coming from? the ukrainians are president biden? >> i think the ukrainians have come out since then and conveyed that an enormous source is not one day stand by. but most importantly i would know the president has been saying, we have been saying for weeks now, that the russians could invade at anytime. we don't know, we're not in the minds of president putin, thank goodness, i don't to be in his mind, but what is important for people to look at is not rhetoric or back and forth, but 100,000 troops. more than 100,000 troops are

building up at the border. their military exercises around other countries. the ukrainians have been welcoming security assistance and even meeting us at the airport to ask us for more. what we're planning for right now is for all scenarios. but the diplomatic path, we want to avoid this, no question, that's our preference. >> and we're out of time, but on the subject of doing things differently, on covid, your administration has a great record on vaccinations. i'll give you that. but not on testing. last, month you got pilloried for saying this on rapid testing. >> why not just make them free and give them outs -- have them available everywhere? >> she just and went to every american? >> jen, you are now sending rapid tests to every american, thankfully. i just got an email telling me that i'm getting mine saturday. do you regret saying that in hindsight? >> well, i said it at a time mehdi, and i learned every day,

i always wish i could add more context or say things more clearly. once you didn't capture there was everything i said on testing and the rest of the briefing, which i certainly understand, i should've added more context in that moment. but we're doing is we are sending tests to everyone who wants a test. that's not every american because we're not doing that because that would waste a lot of tests. we want has to go to the people that want them. the good news is that this program is working. we're sending tests out more quickly than we thought we would be able to. we thought we would be able to send them out -- people already posting their test their receiving online, that's great. and we are going to order an additional 5 million tests to give them out to people's homes. >> jen psaki, we will have to leave it there, we are grateful to you for joining us tonight. thank you. >> thank you, mehdi. >> coming up, we heard what the white house wants, now it's up to the usual suspects to weigh in. what to watch for next month the 11th hour continues. the 11th hour continues.

i'm jonathan lawson

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the nominee was more liberal or far more liberal than you? >> it's not too hard to get more liberal than me. so it would not bother me, having a person who was sound in their thought process, have been sound in their disbursement of justice and the rule of law, just because of their personal beliefs.

>> democrats have grown accustomed to senators joe manchin and kristen sinema blocking much of the presidents agenda. this time there's hope within the party that biden's pick for the supreme court will buck that trend. new york magazine points out, quote, while the would be natural for some of the democratic base to fear that those senators would similarly block a supreme court nominee, the senators have supported every single biden judicial nominee so far and look ready to help the president fulfill his promise from the 2020 presidential primary of putting the focus black women on the court. with us tonight, melina tolliver, to progressive candidates and causes -- and john mccain, he's also among the cohost of the circus on showtime. thank you both for joining me. juanita, let me start with, you what do you make of joe biden's policies -- his historic promise to appoint

a black woman and now the rather offensive response from some of the right that he's pandering by making that promise and that the appointment would be token is not based on merit? >> let's remember where the president was when he made this commitment. i would believe he was in february, late february, right before the south carolina primary, and he needed to make an appeal. this was the appeal he went with, knowing that it would energize black and brown voters across south carolina are the same voters who revitalized his campaign under the guidance of representative clyburn. so i think that him making good on this promise is something that will also be another moment where he can tap into, and at least create a dish no momentum among black and brown voters, because this is something after the voting rights failure that needs to happen, must happen. so his full-throated response reminded to folks that he will make good on this is critical. now the criticism we're hearing is going to be rooted in the same white supremacy that we see in the right every single day. we saw it with vice president harris on the 2020 campaign trail, and we will see even more of that now. we are already seeing it.

and the nominee hasn't even been named because the assumption that the supreme court is a reserve space for white or white adjacent people, particularly men, is what has been the guiding light up until, what, the 60s? so this is going to make a lot of people upset. and with that in mind, democrats need to figure out how they are going to protect this nominee because she is going to be in for world of hatred, racism, and misogyny directed all at her from all angles, and protecting her with clear communication and clear efforts and campaigns is going to be essential. >> i think worse than the people who are upset and racist are the people who are cynical about all of this, playing a political game. this is a headline from the washington post in 1980, reagan pledges he would name a woman to the supreme court. and he did, sandra day o'connor. trump made the same pledge and elected emmy cohn need barrett. why is it such a big deal that biden makes the same pledge? is it because he's a democrat or because it's a black woman?

>> listen, i think this is the right pick. i think it's a smart pick. it's maintaining a campaign pledge, it was a central part of his platform, as you just pointed out. i think the blow back so far is what we'd expect. i don't think -- i think it's going to be at the end of the day, there will be a nominal fight over the -- over biden's pick. but i think joe manchin will be aboard, i think or sinema would be aboard, and i wouldn't be surprised to see as many as five or more republican senators aboard as well. listen, this is something that is over due. it is time, and it was a campaign pledge and for any member of the united states congress, on either side of the aisle to suggest that an african american woman is not qualified to be on supreme court is not qualified to be in the united states congress. >> well said. juanita, joe manchin, we talked about joe manchin a lot on the show, this network. he has responded positively so far to the supreme court story.

but he still hasn't spoken about the build back better. i j have given manchin money, and it's because he stood up to things like build back better. what is your reaction to that news? >> this should surprise no one, especially as we heard how those negotiations -- especially how manchin unceremoniously went on fox network to say he just couldn't do it. to be rewarded by republicans of something that he is getting used to. i think also recognizing the other financial ties that tempered his ability to negotiate to build back better, especially the clean energy probe programs that were proposed. it pinpointed the fact that people, especially west virginians who need these types of investments, are not his priority.

and they haven't been has priority. i think that came out again in the negotiations over the filibuster when apparently, it's dependent on which donor mention talk to us that he will come back to folks like schumer and senator cain with additional questions, it has been a guiding like for him and will continue to be as they take up other provisions of build back better. so i think folks should wrap their heads around the reality that build back better in his current form will not get past manchin and it's time to start looking at individual provisions that democrats across the country can hold up and harold as victories as we go to the midterms. >> juanita, and mark please stay with us. we have a lot more to talk about. coming up, why but some voters like the idea of a republican presidential candidate, but not so much an actual real life republican candidate. when the 11th hour continues. the 11th hour continues

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election but the polling is already well underway. when asking voters who would they would vote for hypothetically, they picked a generic republican candidate over joe biden by nine points. but it's all bad news for democrats. the president beat every single specific candidate named in the poll. he and stout donald trump icicle point, mike pence by two points, ron desantis by five, and good old ted cruz by six. still with us, juanita tolliver and mark mckinnon. and mark, what's the deal with that polling? voters would be perfectly happy with president generic republican, over president biden. but not president trump or president desantis? >> this is a fascinating poll, mehdi. i think that can freshen was dumb is that joe biden and democrats are in terrible shape and they would be -- they would be soundly trounced by any republican candidate in 2024. it's a long way off, obviously.

but the notion is -- joe biden -- it could get worse for joe biden, but it's hard to imagine. it's easy to argue that he's at the lowest point in his presidency, and likely to get better. and even in this light low point where there is barely any lights in the tunnel, he's still beats the others -- there won't be any generic name on the ballot. there will be a specific person. and what i think is going on here is people like joe biden to turn the page on donald trump. and the problem with the republican party, my own party that i've been arguing with for a long time, they have to put donald trump in the rearview mirror, but instead they have him on the windshield. they are genuflect-ing to him or running towards him, like ron desantis, the governor of florida. >> we know mike pence still disowned donald trump even donald trump refuses to say is anything bad about the people try to kill him.

when, juanita still like the idea of a republican party that doesn't exist, it seems. >> it's a figment of their imaginations at this point, mehdi. right? as mark said, people voted for biden to get rid of trump. that's 2020 election was less about biden and more about removing trump in the harmful policies that he implements. and getting back, to some degree of normalcy. which biden is still working on achieving as the pandemic rages. and that's a big part of why i think his polling numbers are still underwater. another big reason why i think his approval numbers are underwater is, as you discussed with jim psaki, even with all of these economic gains, that he should be celebrating, historic growth, historic job creation, are all american amazing things, let's be real, they overshadow anything trump was able to do in the white house, but on top of all of that, you still have a pandemic that won't quit, and you still have americans feeling financially vulnerable. because with all of those

positive it cannot make indicators, it takes a while for that to reach regular people or low income people, or people trying to put food on the table. and once that like catches up, i think there would be brighter days for biden in the white house. >> mark, the dccc, the democratic congressional committee, is -- the news isn't all bad for democrats again. and d. c. quote, democrats also voiced some optimism, saying they had identified more than a dozen new congressional districts they consider to be in play because of redistricting they can bring the total to 38. is there any chance that the democrats blocked the midterm -- losing seats in the midterms? we know, in recent memory, george bush, post 9/11, was able to buck that trend. is there any chance of joe biden's party doing this you think? >> no. in a word. it really isn't. this is -- george bush did it once, it's

only happened a few times in the last hundred years. when a party retains the house. and george bush did it just post 9/11 when he had favorable ratings in the 90s. listen, just historically, the trends are not good. i think, in the moment, it's a difficult time for joe biden. realistically, you have to say that it's unlikely. but to when you disappoint, and to your point, things are getting better. not likely to get worse. covid is likely to receive, those economic factors are likely to get even better than they are in people become more cognizant of them as they are less focused on covid. so i think the picture will get better than it is now. and again, as i said, longer term, as i think democrats and the accounting we get to kick in and some of the programs of joe biden, people see the tangible results. again, as i said, that polling today really surprise me because it showed that at its worst point, and the first point for democrats, right, now they beat any republican they

put on the ballot. so if it gets better from here on out, and maybe it will be somebody besides biden with more energy for the democrats as the nominee for democrats. so the picture seems to get better as the -- >> i wish we had time to say this discuss. we're out of time. now juanita tolliver, mark mckinnon. thank you so much. i appreciate it. coming up, new reporting from the front line in ukraine as tensions with russia grow by the day. that's when the 11th hour continues. don't go away. i'm jonathan law fe insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price.

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military presence along the mid-ukrainian border, left continues as it has over the past several years. richard engel is on the ground in ukraine following this story for us tonight. >> this may be russia's way of showing it didn't like the united states written answers to russia's demand, that nato

leave eastern europe and barr ukraine. new live fire drills near ukraine, more jets into belarus, and naval exercises in the baltics sea. president biden called ukraine 's president zelensky, who's receiving u.s. rapids, but president biden has said repeatedly, no american troops are heading his way. on the call, president biden pledged additional economic support. on ukraine's front line in the east, their troops are remarkably calm. on watch, but many here seem to be following their governance line, that there is no great reason for concern. >> we are in good spirits, and we have no problems, says valentine. they have already been on the low level war for eight years, emptying out so-called

frontline ghost villages. there used to be 3000 people here. we found three women. all russian speakers, none wants putin to invade. >> [interpreter] we live in ukraine, we don't need russia. yet russia continues to mass in force. operates of 12000 troops now, and significantly more intelligent say, coming next week. nato is trying to show a united front in support of ukraine, but there are divisions. germany is refusing to send combat weapons. instead, is sending 5000 helmets. the mayor of kyiv expressed outrage asking, whether they're gonna send next, pillows? richard engel, nbc news, eastern ukraine. >> coming up, another episode of, we watch so you don't have to. the new fictional outrage on the right getting them all worked up now. when the 11th hour continues.

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lot of attention for his bizarre rant on eminem changes. but he's changed -- beloved cartoon characters and fox predictably has thoughts. we put together an assembly. >> many mouse is going woke. for the first time ever, she will be wearing a pantsuit. >> disney is totally changing mini mouse. >> ditching her iconic transfer a pantsuit? business attire. >> they are trying to destroy fabrics of our society. >> if you see woman in a pantsuit inside hall of presidents, it's not hillary vandalizing a trump statue. >> disneyland, the wokest place on earth. >> yeah, that's right. >> for the record, minnie's pantsuit was designed by fashion icon, stella mccartney. we should all be so lucky. that is our broadcast for this thursday night. with our thanks for being with us, on behalf of all of my colleagues at the networks of nbc news, goodnight.

>> tonight on all in. why is the trump campaign sending its own slate of electors in the state capitals? >> the department of justice in the january six committee investigate the trump campaign 's fake electors walk tonight. michigan secretary of state joins me with new evidence of fraud. >> so if we get awarded the state, all electors are right there and they could step right in. >> and as justice breyer formally announces his retirement, the unhinged backlash against his replacement is already in full probe. >> i'm sure it will be as -- a black woman, he saw how well that worked with kamala harris. >> you're reporting on the matt gates scandal keeps coming and how is he still -- a political gaffe from the ages for senator ron johnson. >> i've never really felt it was societies responsibility to take care of other people's children. >> all in starts right now.